Meyer is mum on BCS talk involving Ohio State

Urban Meyer is finished talking about the national title picture. The Ohio State head coach gave himself a grade of “C” for getting distracted by the total picture and losing a little focus on Illinois and improving his team.

When is a 25-point win and nearly 600 yards of offense on the road in the Big Ten not enough to keep pace with the rest of the country? When so much more is expected of third-ranked Ohio State this late in the season.

And also when close to 200 of those yards came in the fourth quarter and 14 of the points came in the final four minutes of the game?

So Urban Meyer is finished talking about the national title picture. The Ohio State head coach gave himself a grade of "C" for getting distracted by the total picture and losing a little focus on Illinois and improving his team.

The Buckeyes handled Illinois 60-35. The outcome of the game never was in doubt. But more was expected of an offense that was sleepwalking through the second and third quarters.

"I was worried about too many other things," Meyer said. "I can promise you, we're going to coach better this week. The guys need to enjoy a Division I win. That's our job. ... That doesn't mean (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) we're not going to get after it, because we are."

Ohio State punted the ball six times against Illinois and had four three-and-out series. In the previous six games combined, the Buckeyes had 15 punts (some attributed to the second-team offense) and just five three-and-out series.

Meyer is still miffed about missed tackles on a punt return for a touchdown against Illinois. Running back Warren Ball, pressed into coverage action because of injuries, missed a key tackle on the play. Ball became Meyer's sounding bell Monday during his weekly press conference.

When Meyer was asked about the attitude by some fans that playing for anything less than a national title is a failure, he didn't allow himself to go there.

Clearly, he wanted to. But a week ago, Meyer was unhappy when wide receiver Evan Spencer displayed tongue-in-cheek bravado and said OSU "would wipe the field" with Alabama or Florida State, the two teams ranked in front of the Buckeyes.

"Ezekiel (Elliott) is on our punt team, I have to teach him how to tackle," Meyer said, smiling and ignoring the question. "Warren Ball is running down on kickoff. ... He hasn't done that in his high school career. Any other questions about Warren Ball's coverage?"

The only time Meyer really addressed the BCS was early on in a question framed in historical context. This is the final year of the BCS system before a four-team playoff starts next season.

"Without spending much time on it, because it's not fair to our team to do that, I will say this," Meyer said. "I think it's a flawed system. What the BCS people have done ... I think it was great for a while. I think they took an imperfect system and did the best you can without a playoff."

Page 2 of 2 - But co-offensive coordinator Tom Herman, generally regarded as the most intelligent person in the locker room because he is a Mensa member, does not have a problem with it. There isn't anything, he said, Ohio State can do if it is left out of the national title picture.

"It was like last year, everybody said is there frustration you can't go to a bowl game? No, we knew we couldn't go to a bowl game in January," Herman said. "We've known about the BCS for the last 15 years. We know this is the system we play in, and these are the cards that are dealt. It has no bearing on how we prepare."

Saturday at Ohio Stadium, 18 seniors will play their final home game against unranked Indiana. Pundits and analysts will be watching for a convincing and confident win from Ohio State.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes will be trying to eat at Meyer's victory table Sunday for the 23rd win in a row. It would be the longest winning streak in Ohio State history.

Because of the sloppy nature — and it's difficult to call a 60-35 win sloppy — of the Illinois win, Meyer wants to make sure his players appreciate the spoils of winning. He doesn't want them thinking about the BCS rankings, about the winning streak. He wants focus on improvement.

"We're asking offensive players to tackle right now," Meyer said. "You saw what happened when you ask them to do that. Our emphasis is on teaching people how to tackle. We have five offensive players on punts. ... When guys have never tackled in their career, that's bad coaching by us."

The Buckeyes can clinch a spot in the Big Ten championship game with a win against Indiana. Two impressive wins to finish the season, and if a top 15 Michigan State is the conference title game opponent, Meyer may start lobbying for his team again.